From collection Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company Collection
Old High School Wiscasset Me. 2.
Old High School, Wiscasset, Me. pre 1910 Under a 1647 Massachusetts law, Wiscasset was obligated to provide schooling for its children between the ages of seven and fifteen. In 1800 a second law mandated district schools, of which Wiscasset would have six. Wiscasset's "Old High School," as shown in this photo, is actually the Garrison Hill School, one of those district schools. Merchant and Revolutionary War soldier Timothy Parsons originally built the building as a private home in 1785. It was later moved to the other side of Hodge Street where it served as a tavern before its purchase by the town in 1860 for use as the Town Hall. During the Civil War, it was used as a drilling place for the Home Guard. The building remained the home of the Garrison Hill School until the Masons purchased it in 1910. Peggy Konitzky